Chương 67: [BL] 66. Swordmanship [1]

The goodbye was necessary; she'd recognize that, but even so, she hesitated when the two hosts went their separate ways. Willow's eyes followed the backs of Shera and Josha as they rode toward where the distant cherry blossom trees were. When they became a dot, she saw Shera turn back and frantically waved to Willow. Softly, Willow laughed and waved back. The forest took over them. Bodies of treants littered the bluegrass and the busy forest, where random jutting branches of trees shot out from the ground.

Willow had pointed to where the Golden Thread led her, and Derrick had put Leynah in charge of a scout group comprising three tier-threes. In their wake, they left more and more bodies of Treants. Most of the Treants were tier-twos, so they shouldn't have been a problem for Leynah's scout party. However, they had been instructed to leave the Tier-three, and sure enough—one crossed paths with the army.

A lumbering Treant with gnarled branches split into countless legs, making it look like a wooden squid that moved by stabbing parts of itself into the ground. Willow, marching on foot at the very front of the host, pulled her right leg back and, in one motion, summoned her Auric Bow and arrow. The golden arrow flew toward the Riftborn, and the Treant let out a deep rumble. A dozen twisting vines shot out from its body and wrapped around Willow's arrow, stopping it dead in its tracks.

[Ironbark Treant—Level 42] Following Willow's arrow, a hail of throwing weapons arced toward the Riftborn, alongside many more arrows. The Treant did not move; grey ironwood reinforced its body, and every single projectile failed to hurt it. Arrows broke apart. Throwing weapons bounced. The Treant, however, was forced to stay stationary, as two Tier-threes [Royal Guard] descended upon the Treant's flank with their cruel-looking axes, sending deep cuts that cleaved through the Riftborn's sides.

The ironwood began to waver as the Treant collapsed forward, and in front of it the [Sword Master] did not miss his chance. Derrick's hand wrapped around the handle of the sheathed Noble's Grace. At first, Willow was about to scream at Derrick to move for the Treant about to crash into the First Sword. Calmly, the First Sword gripped his sheath with his left hand and traced his sword handle with his right arm. A whipping sound of wind followed, and the Treant's body was cut into two parts in an upward slash.

Wind gusts spun around them as the Treant's body collapsed fully to the ground. Willow tucked her hair behind her ears and just stared at the Tier-three Riftborn that had been taken down so easily.

"A random Tier-three from this." Derrick shook his head. He made his way toward the unnatural tree, or what looked like a tree, but it was just a branch sticking unnaturally through the ground with its green leaves. Even now, more small branches kept growing. Willow saw the tallest branches, ten meters up, fall to the ground, and they morphed into a body of thin Treants that were capable of standing up. [Heartwood Treant—Level 21] The Treants did not show signs of aggression like other Riftborn.

They slowly recognized the human host and charged with their lumbering steps. The tier-two Treants immediately came under a hail of throwing weapons and the golden arrows of the Olympya Archers. In the end, the legionaries took them down in quick succession, giving the Treants no chance. After Derrick cut down the main branch in one sweep, the branch split into ten parts as if it had cut itself. A hand sprouted, followed by multiple legs. The lumber began to rise until Derrick shouted.

"Kill them!" he ordered. The Tier-three human moved efficiently, killing the forming Treants before they formed into a Tier-three Riftborn. They continued their march, not wasting a single moment. During the entire march, there were no casualties, primarily because Derrick ordered every single Tier-three to fight at the front, putting themselves in danger. Willow certainly did not expect all the legionaries to be used as a ranged unit instead of marching in a shieldwall.

Alongside Willow and her Olympya Archers and Magus, they supported the fighting Tier-threes, only advancing to melee when a Treant skipped the Tier-threes and ran straight at their formation. Of course, the Treants would just be speared to death. Surrounding Willow was her party, a bunch of legionaries that almost reached level nineteen to twenty, and they were tasked to go into melee once the Treants' formation broke apart so they could have their ascension.

"Treant! Thirty-five in count! Five of them are Tier-threes!" a [Scout] shouted atop his horse. After receiving the information, Derrick didn't waste time. He got the army on the full march. The Tier-threes and the First Sword charged right into the Tier-threes Treants that held back in the back of the Riftborn's formation, but that was far from enough to stop the human Champion, Veteran, and Royal Guards from cutting into them, ruining the Riftborn semblance of cohesion.

"We're going!" Krywen ordered beside Willow. The girl's voice came out strong, but Willow could see her body was shaking as she pointed her mace forward. Thirty-five was the highest number of Treant party they encountered so far. Since Willow was told to hold back for now, she reached for Krywen's shoulder, squeezing it. The girl blushed and gave her a bow.

With a dozen legionaries following her, she led the charge once the projectile stopped, and they rushed right at the tier-twos Treant that scattered in between stout trees. Krywen split the force into two, reminding them to stay together as at least six.

"She's grown up," Willow bit back a sob.

"What are you, her mother?" Evan asked beside her. The emperor's son was busy leafing through his grimoire atop a stone formation and mumbling to himself, scratching his pen down to draw something.

"Shouldn't you go there and fight?" Willow asked. [Grimoire Wizard—Level 18] The stone formation had a low, flat tier with a tree right beside it. Willow sat, her back against the tree, as she relaxed.

"What a waste. You could ascend right this instant."

"My lady, did you not see me firing a golden arrow from my Grimoire in the last fight?" He asked with a twitching face.

"That used all of my pages, and now they just recovered, so I need to draw more."

"No, I don't," Willow admitted. She genuinely thought the golden arrows were from her Olympyan Archer and herself. Evan hung his mouth, offended.

"Well, I don't like those arrows anyway. If I'm allowed to use fireball, I would already ascend!" She could not help herself and leaned close to peek at Evan's grimoire. It looked interesting, sure. But Willow doubted this boy's strategy. Every single page… He drew the same circles and glyphs on every single page!

"Why are you doing that?"

"It's faster, and if I use every page in quick succession, I can take down tier-two in one go. I will settle on Lightning Bolt, I think." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"But you have to refill it all over again."

"Sure, but I'm protected by an entire army that did not need me. I want to ascend before we start this Devil's Rift purge." Willow nodded approvingly at his explanation. That made sense. The way Evan completed his drawing on a page in five seconds made her guess that the boy already got his Enhancer that probably allowed him to draw quickly. Well, I shouldn't bother him then. Willow glanced at the battlefield again and could not help but notice that around them were empty circles where no one dared approach.

To be fair, her golden Olympyans were standing menacingly around the rock formation, especially the executioner.

"M—My lady!" A squeak came out. Willow found Rudo leading a horse with a Devil's corpse on top, and the boy brought a vial filled with dark liquid. Ah, so it's ready, finally. He must have been waiting for her. Willow motioned him closer, and the boy eyed her Olympyas nervously. [Warrior—Level 1]"Don't worry, they won't bite," said Willow.

"Well, I don't expect them to bite," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Ah! Pardon me. Which do you want to do first, my lady? Your absorption or this potion we have ground down for you?" Rudo's eyes flitted to the battlefield where his loved one fought: Ragna, Rom, and probably Krywen. Ragna and Rom were with the legionaries, and they were part of the melee infantry since they were both tier-twos.

"Rudo." Willow smiled.

"The bridle."

"Oh—I-I'm sorry," he bowed profusely and handed Willow the horse's bridle.

"Don't worry so much," Evan said suddenly.

"Or at least not yet. The danger is when we raid the Devil's Rift and this Manalith power, not here."

"Right," Rudo straightened.

"Thank you, Evan, you're kind, aren't you?"

"How is that—" Ignoring them, Willow pulled the Jester Devil's corpse and laid it down. Its chest was carved, held open by a metallic pin to showcase its Class Stone. [Duelist Class Stone] Strength: C Dexterity: B Vitality: C Constitution: C Sense: B Arcanic: A A class that specializes in one-on-one confrontation. [Hunt Trophy 1/10] Consume Jester Devil? [Duelist Class Stone] Y/N What an utterly boring class.

Willow had held the hope that the Jester Devil had Ascendant class, but to her despair, it looked like she was not lucky. Should she even consume this? It didn't seem wise. Literally, she only had ten slots for Hunt Trophy… And if she could help it; she would fill it with an Ascendant-class stone. Her Wings had been a very, very amazing addition. She probably wouldn't get [Auric Huntress] if she did not get her wings first… But then again, she'd only used it once before. So who knows?

Maybe a normal class stone could still give her a good choice.

"Yes." [Choose Your Trophy] [Fool Mask (Tier one)] [Enchantment] [Easy Audience]—Against an opponent with a hundred Arcanic lower than the user, Fool Mask will send them laughing, impeding their ability to fight. Hilarious. Wait, actually, this did not sound bad at all. Still though, why would she hunt something with a hundred Arcanic lower than hers?

Besides, she already has the Jester Mask that she probably wants to imbue with her [Ravenous Anatomist] [Encore Knife (Tier Two)] [Slot (Dark Rune: 10/10)] Spell [Encore] [1] Enchanment [Dark Clad]—Encore Knife will hold Dark energy that can be retained inside the knife and sharpened it or boost accuracy, or magic. This one was interesting; it has both enhancement and Spell. Willow did not know what Encore would do, but the Dark Clad would go nicely with her [Ravenous Anatomist]. The decision was easy.

[Hunt Trophy 2/10] The knife materialised in blue light above her palm, and Willow gripped it. It was a balance knife with two blades, forcing Willow to carefully hold the middle handle. She balanced it above her finger, and almost yelped when it tipped down. She pinned it with two fingers, shut her eyes and slowly peeked at it. Yep, need practice. Also… Willow exploded in light to sudden cries from Evan and Rudo. She donned her [Ravenous Anatomist] and closed her eyes to reach toward the Dark Rune. Ah.

She threw the knife away, intending to stick it into a tree bark, but it just bounced when hit. Willow reached for Encore, and suddenly the knife disappeared, returning above Willow's palm.

"Not bad," Willow mumbled. She looked toward Rudo, who looked like he wanted to examine the knife closely. Willow handed it to him.

"Rudo, the potion, please."

"Oh, here, my lady." He handed it to her, and they traded. She drew a breath in, preparing herself for some disgusting drink. With a pop, she uncorked the vial's top and glugged the potion down. [Anatomist's Theater IV]—An Anatomist needs a focus, and she hardly could do so when her patient trashes about or, even worse… escapes. Now, with the word command of 'Maiden', the Anatomist will summon an iron Maiden to encase her opponent's movement at the cost of double the runes!

Willow almost forgot how evil this class was after she spent so much time fighting with her [Auric Huntress]. She leaned back, waiting until the battle was over, which was not long. Perhaps thirty minutes or so. The Tier-threes returned, some with broken armor but nobody injured badly. Derrick ordered a brief stop for everyone to recover.

"Good job, Becks!" Willow raised a waterskin for Becks. Apparently, he was the one who got the kill. Being stiff as ever, Becks said, "It did not feel right as we surrounded them thirteen to five." Drey, already having taken off his helmet, shot Becks a grin and wrapped his hand around the [Royal Guard] neck armor.

"A win is a win. My lady, it looks like there are five Legionaries who ascended from that fight alone. Your presence truly graces us." He did a deep flourish. The man had learned Willow did not like those bows she kept getting, so he went a step forward.

"Stop that," she hissed.

"How are my father and brother?" Rudo asked.

"No casualties, lads, don't worry." Becks gave him a thumbs-up.

"And Krywen?" Rudo looked around for her.

"The Lord First Sword wants her to stay so he can go through what she did wrong and well," said Becks. Rudo let out a small smile and hung his head down.

"It felt like she kept getting further. My brother as well." Then, with clenched hands, he looked at both Tier-threes.

"Can I join—""No."

"No." The answer was unanimous, and he sulked. Willow was about to give him a push, for him to go for it, but that would be too irresponsible considering the boy was only level one. So when Rudo caught her eye with hope and an obvious request, it made it all the harder.

"Sorry, Rudo, but I'll prioritize my party members for those who were about to ascend to Tier-two. We'll need everyone we have," she said softly.

"N—No, I understand. But still, I want to at least be able to stand beside them—""Level ten," Drey suddenly said.

"If you get to level ten, then I shall personally recommend you to the Lord First Sword, to at least assign you to the supply group for when we raid the Devil's Rift." Evan and Willow's heads whipped to him. Level ten? That should be impossible without Willow's Hunt Party.

"I will! I'll reach it," Rudo said, her eyes might as well have been blazing. Drey gave him a nod, and beside him, Becks' reaction was covered by his helmet. How the hell was Rudo supposed to achieve that? Willow bit her lip. There was something she had been meaning to do. But she recognized how important she was to the entire raid party and held herself. Maybe, like Rudo, she also needed to take a risk. What was the point of having three classes if she was going to let one of them be decoration?

"I will fight with you," Willow said to Rudo.

"I want to reach tier-two in my Guard Class."